Saturday, November 21, 2015

One of the most well-known landmarks in the Dundas Valley is
the Hermitage. This ruin dates back to before 1855 and has a very interesting
history.According to the historical
plaque at the ruins, stones used in construction were quarried from local
sites, the red bricks from the Dundas Valley and the limestone sills from the
Credit River Valley. The Hermitage had several owners before it was acquired by
George Gordon Leith in 1855.

After George’s death in 1901 his daughter Alma Dick-Lauder
bought the estate from the rest of the family and lived there until 1934 when a
fire broke out during a party and burned the house down. Even after this fire
Alma continued to live on the site, building a modest home within the ruins
where she lived until her death in 1942.

A popular destination for hikers visiting the valley, the
site had fallen into disrepair over recent years and eventually required structural
bracing to the walls and fencing off of the area due to safety concerns. There
was even talk of taking down the walls and reducing them to the height of about
a metre. It would have been sad to see this structure removed but with the risk
of further deterioration, something had to happen.

Fortunately, the Hamilton Conservation Authority along with
local government and private donors came up with an ambitious plan to preserve
the 160 year old structure.

You should see it now! Reinforced with internal steel
supports, the walls are going back up. To keep it as authentic as possible,
every single stone was numbered and catalogued to ensure that when rebuilt, it would
resemble the original structure as closely as possible.

Fenced off during the construction process, the progress is
interesting to see. The stone work around the former main entrance door and
windows is beautiful and reconstruction work is continuing up to the second
floor. The project is slated for completion in the summer of 2016. If in the
area, check it out.

The Hermitage can be found while hiking from the Dundas
Valley Trail Centre and is located on the Main Loop. That loop is about 3.5 km
and is moderately easy to walk.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Have you been by the Dundas Eco-park gateway area lately? This
new park which follows the northern shore of the Desjardins Canal is still in
its development stage but is coming along nicely.

Those of you who have been watching with interest will
recall that this parks sits on the former site of the Ben Veldhuis Greenhouse
complex. This large operation once hosted around 20 greenhouses producing more
than 3 million cacti a year. This landmark gave Dundas the “Cactus Capital of
Canada” moniker and is still remembered annually during Dundas’ always popular
Cactus Festival.

The greenhouses are now long gone with the exception of an
original two story chimney which is home to a protected at-risk species of
chimney swifts. This chimney has become a focal point of the park and has recently
been enhanced with an art installation inspired by the former greenhouses. These were provided by the Rotary Clubs of Dundas with a plan to add information panels and benches in the spring of 2016.

Last year, trails were built and hundreds of trees planted.
Pilings were also installed in the water to support a future structure. It’s
great to see these steps being completed and plantings getting established.
With each passing year, this area will become even more inviting.

Additional
work is still to come which will include a walkway over the edge of the old
canal as well as interpretive displays. Even now, you can see these elements
all starting to come together and the overall result so far is excellent.

The Dundas Eco Park Campaign is the Hamilton component of
the ambitious Cootes to Escarpment Eco Park campaign, which ultimately will
include lands from the waters edge to the Niagara escarpment and will include
over 3000 acres in total, a protected and diverse greenspace to be enjoyed for
generations.

Guaranteed to become another “must visit” destination in
Dundas, we will continue to monitor this exciting project and look forward to
seeing it progress.

After years of writing about camping and hiking throughout Ontario, I thought I would narrow my focus and begin to concentrate on the trails, waterfalls and natural wonders that can be found in the Dundas Valley and surrounding area.

Living in this area, I spend countless hours hiking and exploring the valley and am constantly amazed by the unique features and stunning views that can be found here.

Please join me each week as I bring you photo's and stories of the area's natural wonders, trails and hidden treaures.

About Me

An avid hiker and camper, Cam has visited many parks and trails throughout Ontario. Cam is the author of Exploring the Dundas Valley and was the recipient of the 2015 Hamilton Independent Media Award in the category of environmental journalism.